Re: More Incredibly Stupid (plug seats)?

["Steinbrueck, GL" <steinbru@VNET.IBM.COM>]

Paul Royal wrote on Mon, 08 Jul:
>>Ok, Mr. Duane and others...assuming you're able to get the plugs out of
>>the engine on a 90Q20v, what's the best way to remove any dirt from around
>>the area where the plugs go in.  When I changed plugs on my old 5K I would
>>go to my local gas station first and take their air hose to the area to

P-O Selander wrote:
>Let the plug seats sit for a while in a strong degreaser/solvent
>Try with a micro blade or similar to scrub loose as much as you can
>Wash it all out with high-pressure water
>Blow it dry with compressed air (and to get remaining residue out)
>Clean the residue out (you can't get it all otherwise) with a Q-tip (soft
>Always keep the engine clean so you won't have to repeat this again.

My street honda ('83 650sc) has very deep sparkplug wells and tends to
accumulate the same kind of gritty roadmess.  On most engines, it's
enough to loosen the plugs and turn the engine over several times to
blow the dirt away, but the wells on this 16v double cam engine are too
deep, and inset between the legs of the valve cover "H".

I leave the plugs in and then use a standard engine degreaser (long ago
bought a gallon and found it was to be mixed 1:10 with kerosene --long
lasting purchase) blasted on with an old spray gun.  Let it sit only
about 10min, then blast it off with high pressure hot water.  This
removes all but tightest non-greasy remnants.  Finally, when the engine
is pretty well dry (sometimes a short run helps), I give the engine a
heavy mist of that old favorite:  "armor-all".  This seems to penetrate
and somehow "lubricate" the dirt that remains.  It also keeps the new
stuff from sticking very hard.

After a few treatments like this, changing plugs was much less of a
chore.  Blowing the wells out with compressed air is usually enough, the
cleaning gets done with the bird's regular bath, and the whole engine
stays cleaner.  Was good for the black alloys too.

--G.
'86 5ks by the Hudson
'83 nighthawk (and all those other cars, trucks, bikes, and tractors)